It is never too late to invest in mutual funds for retirement. As such, if you plan to invest in some of the best funds, the Zacks Mutual Fund Rank can provide you with valuable guidance.

The best way to shortlist great mutual funds is to ensure solid performance, diversification, and low fees. Some are better than others, but utilizing the Zacks Mutual Fund Rank, we have identified three mutual funds that could be solid additions to one's retirement portfolio.

Here are the funds that have achieved the Zacks Mutual Fund Rank #1 (Strong Buy) and have low fees.

Columbia Small Cap Value II Class R5 (CRRRX Quick QuoteCRRRX - Free Report) : 0.87% expense ratio and 0.83% management fee. CRRRX is a Small Cap Value mutual fund, investing in small companies with stock market valuation less than $2 billion. With annual returns of 12.06% over the last five years, this fund is a winner.

Dodge & Cox Stock Fund (DODGX Quick QuoteDODGX - Free Report) is a stand out amongst its peers. DODGX is a part of the Large Cap Value category, and invests in equities with a market capitalization of $10 billion or more, but whose share prices do not reflect their intrinsic value. With five-year annualized performance of 13.93%, expense ratio of 0.51% and management fee of 0.5%, this diversified fund is an attractive buy with a strong history of performance.

Janus Henderson Global Research Institutional (JAWGX Quick QuoteJAWGX - Free Report) : 0.63% expense ratio and 0.55% management fee. JAWGX is a Global - Equity mutual fund, which invests their assets in large markets, leveraging the global economy. The fund is mainly invested in equities, has a long reputation of salutary performance, and has yearly returns of 13.33% over the last five years.

These examples highlight the fact that there are some astonishingly good mutual funds out there. If your advisor has you in the good ones, bravo! If not, you may need to have a talk.